SEWANEE, Tenn. – The Messiah baseball team played a full day of baseball on Sunday against the Sewanee Tigers to close out a trip to Tennessee. Multiple fog delays pushed the conclusion of Saturday's game to Sunday. In addition to the five innings played on Sunday morning, the Falcons and Tigers also tacked on a seven-inning doubleheader in the afternoon. In total, the Falcons played quality baseball for much of the day, but dropped the series 1-2.
 
In Game One, Sewanee scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth, taking advantage of five walks and a pair of hit by pitches to earn the 10-9 comeback victory. Messiah scored four runs in the top of the first inning of Game Two and added insurance late to claim the 8-3 win in Game Two. The final game of the three-game series went to the Tigers with Messiah mustering just one run in a 6-1 loss.
 
Joshua Ammons was the hot bat for the Falcons, going 7-9 at the dish this weekend with two home runs, a double, and five RBI. He finished the week with a .778 batting average, a 1.566 slugging percentage, and a .750 on-base percentage, being named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Week.
 
Messiah falls to 2-4 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday for a single game against the Dickinson Red Devils at 3:00 p.m. This weekend Messiah will head to Ashland, Va. for a three-game series against Randolph-Macon.
 
Game One – Sewanee defeats Messiah – 10-9
Messiah built a 5-1 lead on Saturday before fog forced the final five innings to Sunday morning. While the Tigers scored once in the fourth and twice in the fifth, Messiah added two runs in the top of the sixth on a Joshua Ammons two-run homer down the left-field line and single runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 9-4 lead into the ninth. Thomas Zeigler drove home the run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and Evan Wagaman brought home Messiah's ninth run on a groundout in the eighth.
 
After a scoreless top of the ninth, Messiah needed three outs to earn the Game One victory. The Falcons never got those three outs as the Tigers scored six runs in the stanza to take the game 10-9. Sewanee took advantage of five walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches to rally back for the victory. An RBI single with one away tied the game at 9-9 and a bases loaded walk with two outs gave the Tigers the walk-off win.
 
Game Two – Messiah defeats Sewanee – 8-3
After a gut-punch loss in Game One, Messiah quickly turned around and scored four first-inning runs in Game Two. Dustin Isanogle doubled down the left-field line to lead off the game and Joshua Ammons singled up the middle to get Messiah on the board. An opposite field blast from Sam Zercher followed and Messiah led 3-0 just four batters into the game. After a Thomas Zeigler double to left field, Dylan Beard singled through the right side and Messiah led 4-0 before the Tigers came to the plate.
 
Sewanee did cut into the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first, but Messiah limited the damage, cutting down a runner at third base to end the inning.
 
Joshua Ammons lifted his second homer of the day to straight away centerfield to lead off the top of the third as Messiah built their lead to three runs at 5-2. In the bottom of the fifth, Sewanee collected three hits but scored just one run as a strikeout stranded runners at second and third, preserving a 5-3 lead.
 
Messiah added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh frames to take an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. In the sixth it was a bases loaded wild pitch that brought Zeigler home and in the seventh a two-run single from Evan Wagaman scored Ammons and Isaiah Parido.
 
A three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh took out any potential drama as the Falcons earned the 8-3 victory.
 
Nathan Stein tossed a complete game victory, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight.
 
Game Three – Sewanee defeats Messiah – 6-1
The final game of the weekend opened almost exactly like Game Two. Dustin Isanogle opened the game with a leadoff double. Two batters later he came around to score with Ammons lifting a sacrifice fly to right field. Unfortunately for the Falcons, that is where the similarities end. Messiah mustered just two more hits for the next six innings of play while the Tigers scored three times in the bottom of the first and two more in the second to take a 5-1 lead. An insurance run in the sixth gave the Tigers a 6-1 victory in the game.
 
Josh Nielson tossed four innings of quality relief, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three for the Falcons.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons return home for a single game on Wednesday against the Dickinson Red Devils at 3:00 p.m. Next weekend the Falcons hit the road once again for a three-game series against the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets with a single game on Friday at 3:00 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12:00 p.m.